Here's a place where I can post my thoughts on new papers, provide updates on my projects, and post info that will eventually be on my website The Theropod Database - http://theropoddatabase.com/ . It will center on theropods, but may delve into other topics as well such as phylogenetics.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Priscavolucris- the bird that is a fish

One poorly known ex-dinosaur is the supposed Jurassic bird Priscavolucris.

Comments- Gomez Pallerola (1979) originally identified this as the skull, forelimbs and feathers of a Jurassic bird, naming it Priscavolucris montsechi (misspelled Priscavulucris in the figure captions). He later (1982) briefly reidentified it as a shark (cf. Selechia), which was apparent from the original photos. The skull was correctly identified, but the supposed humerus is a scapulocoracoid, the supposed radius and ulna are the basal fin elements, the wing itself is the pectoral fin with the feathers being its rays. The supposed metatarsus and pedal digits are a ceratobranchial and perhaps parts of adjacent gill arch elements (hypobranchial, epibranchial), while the supposed ribs are probably neural arches. Gomez Pallerola later (1985, 1988) referred it to the genus Lonchidion. In 1992 he described it in detail as a new species- Lissodus palustris, as Lissodus had been recently synonymized with Lonchidion. Duffin (2001) noted that while it was obviously a shark, the correct species name is still montsechi. This made the correct name for the taxon Lissodus montsechi. Rees and Underwood (2002) revised Lissodus and kept it separate from Lonchidion. They were unable to examine L. montsechi, but felt it was possibly referrable to Lonchidion and could not be distinguished from the contemporary Lonchidion microselachos using information in the literature. However, while the name they used (Lissodus palustris) would be a junior synonym of L. microselachos if the taxa were identical, the species montsechi has priority over microselachos (from Estes and Sanchiz, 1982) if they are found to be synonyms. Neither the combination Lonchidion palustris nor the more correct L. montsechi have been published to my knowledge, though if correctly referred to the genus, this would be the only species known from skeletons.

Rees and Underwood, 2002. The status of the shark genus Lissodus Brough, 1935, and the position of nominal Lissodus species within the Hybodontoidea (Selachii). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 22(3), 471-479.